Industrial equipment, such as automotive and aviation manufacturing equipment, often requires utilities for operation. Such utilities may comprise, for example, compressed air, hydraulic fluid, electrical power, data signals, and the like. For modularity of design, ease of reconfiguration, ease of maintenance and upgrade, and similar reasons, it is advantageous not to install permanent utility couplings on all industrial equipment. Rather, the equipment may be fitted with a utility coupler. As used herein, a utility coupler is a device comprising two units—referred to herein as a tool unit and a coupling unit—that may be selectively coupled together and decoupled from each other. When coupled, mating utility couplings provide for the passing of utilities across the utility coupler interface. A tool unit of the utility coupler is rigidly affixed to industrial equipment, and the utility couplings of the tool unit attached to provide the utility to the equipment. Corresponding utility couplings of a coupling unit of the utility coupler are attached to a source and/or sink of the utility. When the industrial equipment is activated, the appropriate (preconfigured) utilities are provided by simply coupling the utility unit to the tool unit. In many cases, the coupling unit is preferably manually coupled to the tool unit.
Various means of mechanically coupling devices are known in the art. However, in the case of utility couplers, it would be advantageous for a coupling mechanism to operate without inducing torque that may skew the alignment between tool and coupling units. Additionally, to achieve a tight fit with minimal effort, a manual coupling mechanism employing mechanical advantage would represent an advance over the state-of-the-art.
The Background section of this document is provided to place embodiments of the present invention in technological and operational context, to assist those of skill in the art in understanding their scope and utility. Unless explicitly identified as such, no statement herein is admitted to be prior art merely by its inclusion in the Background section.